Paint and Progress
I am learning that progress is progress. And I love progress, even if it doesn't completely remove the project from the to-do list.
The latest DIY project in the Bordner household was getting rid of all that yellow paint ("lemon ice" by Behr, to be exact), which I absolutely loved, but decided it's best for the outside of the house.
After 6 (!!) paint samples, the hubby and I decided to go with "Aqua Breeze" by Behr. With wood panel walls, the paint really added a cottage-y feel to the room. We can now walk into the room and feel relaxed instead of bombarded with yellow walls and clashing pillows. (Because I am shamelessly addicted to decorative pillows, I insisted on prematurely buying blue pillows for the couch, and will probably change them three times before I decide on the right ones.)
As for what we have in the room, the couch was my first brand new furniture purchase, thanks to those friends and family who donated to the Bordner wedding gift foundation! We purchased it off overstock.com - and the day I went to make the purchase, somehow it was miraculously on the 10% discount list. Amazing. After we put the couch together, I wish it could be a bit squishier, but I think the size and shape are perfect for what we were trying to achieve. Maybe I'll add more pillows to increase the comfort level (any excuse for decorative pillows). The coffee table I found at Panama City's Indoor Flea Market. It was just sitting there, saying "buy me!" and after getting the price down a few dollars, I did. I repainted it with leftover white paint, bought some cute starfish knobs from knobs4less.com, and wa-la! A cute "new" coffee table. The end tables are from Target for $14.99. I like them because they are a little bit smaller than the Ikea ones, and besides, the closest Ikea is 6 hours away. I think they are proportional to the couch and the lamps. After months of trying to find lamps that speak to me, our trip to South Florida and Homegoods allowed me to find the perfect pair. (Side note: No Homegoods in Panama City! It's all the way in Pensacola, and that's a long drive.) Another overstock purchase is the rug. Again, my first rug purchase, and I love it.
Oh and that awful greenish fabric covered frame on the wall? That would be covering up a huge hole. Yes, a hole. A window to be exact, with no window in it. It's there because the previous owner decided to convert the carport into a den, and left the stupid window. Who does that? Shouldn't they have realized it would be the most obnoxious feature of the house? Our permanent solution is to tear down the wall. Who wants that wall anyway? I am looking forward to extra living space/den/desk area that the converted carport will soon become. We can rebuild a non-concrete block, nice wood frame wall and convert the 2 bed/2 bath house into a more appealing 3 bed/2 bath house eventually, but for now, we want the space.
Another feature the husband added to the living room is the frame around the window.
Oh and that awful greenish fabric covered frame on the wall? That would be covering up a huge hole. Yes, a hole. A window to be exact, with no window in it. It's there because the previous owner decided to convert the carport into a den, and left the stupid window. Who does that? Shouldn't they have realized it would be the most obnoxious feature of the house? Our permanent solution is to tear down the wall. Who wants that wall anyway? I am looking forward to extra living space/den/desk area that the converted carport will soon become. We can rebuild a non-concrete block, nice wood frame wall and convert the 2 bed/2 bath house into a more appealing 3 bed/2 bath house eventually, but for now, we want the space.
Another feature the husband added to the living room is the frame around the window.
The window to the front porch looked more like it was trying to fade into the background than offer a view of palm trees and water. After I re-hang the curtain rod (I have to find where we put the brackets first, because they went missing during the painting process, of course), the window will be happier. And I'm sure the our cute white chair will be happier with some fabric friends.